Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, said he will demonstrate to Nigerians that he won the presidential election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) named All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Bola Tinubu the winner of the presidential election on Wednesday.
Tinubu received 8,794,726 votes, followed by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with 6,984,52 votes and Obi with 6,101,533 votes.
Obi stated at a Thursday press conference in Abuja that he will pursue all legal options to regain his mandate.
The LP presidential nominee stated that the 2023 election is arguably the “most controversial” in American history.
Obi urged his followers to consider the election result as “not the end, but the beginning.”
“This election will go down in Nigerian history as one of the most controversial elections ever held,” he remarked.
“The noble people of Nigeria have been defrauded once again. In spite of this, I implore Nigerians to remain peaceful and law-abiding.
“This is not the end, but the start… To restore our mandate, we shall consider all legal and nonviolent means. We won the poll and will demonstrate it to the Nigerian people.”
He urged Obidients not to be disheartened and to participate in the March 11 governorship elections.
“Elections are scheduled for the 11th. We strongly urge you to vote,” he stated.
Obi stated that he and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, are “dedicated” to the cause of a new Nigeria.
“We shall work towards the possibility of a new Nigeria. Datti and I continue to support this new Nigeria,” he stated.
Obi, commenting on Tinubu’s election victory, stated, “I believe that for you to be able to answer “your excellency,” your path to power must be outstanding.”
Julius Abure, national chairman of LP, and Akin Osuntokun, general director of the presidential campaign, were also present at the briefing.